Retail management is often responsible for sale of goods from a plurality of selling locations. Refined management decision support is useful in making a variety of decisions involving goods. Reports that support management decisions may cover ordering, allocation of ordered goods being delivered by a supplier, distribution of goods to selling locations, open to buy management, markdown management, bottom-up and top-down planning. These reports, whether delivered on-line, by e-mail or in hard copy, present forecasted results.
Influences on forecasting include regarding events which have impacted past sales and events proposed for the future. However, management support systems generally do not have a causal calendar which allows a computer system to automatically factor in the effects of past and future events, when generating management decision support reports. Moreover, systems integration over the full range of management decision support reports has a long way to go.
Thus, it is desirable to improved management decision support systems, utilizing a causal calendar to as a basis for a variety of management decision support reports.